New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that the right of navigation through international waterways remains important as per the international law.
“When it comes to the passage of commercial shipping or right of navigation, we continue to stress that it’s important that right of navigation be allowed through international waterways as per international law. It is important for global shipping, economic security of the world and the energy security of the global community. That is how we look at the developments in and around the situation in Bab al-Mandab Strait,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a media briefing while replying a question on the situation in Bab al-Mandab Strait and Houthis threatening to block any ships coming from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi group said Friday it had not closed the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, insisting its recently announced maritime measures were limited to Saudi-linked shipping.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the group’s chief negotiator and spokesperson, dismissed reports suggesting the waterway had been shut down.
“There is no closure of Bab al-Mandab as some are promoting,” Abdul-Salam said, describing the Houthi measures as “only affecting the Saudi side.”
According to Abdul-Salam, the move is to respond to what the group called the Saudi-led “siege” on Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas, and to guarantee “the security, sovereignty and independence of the Yemeni people.”
On Monday, the Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping, citing what it called Riyadh’s prolonged blockade of areas under Houthi control, Xinhua News Agency reported.
On Thursday, the group said it carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, claiming the vessels had violated the maritime ban.
In a statement aired by the group’s Al-Masirah television, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Houthi forces targeted the tankers, identified as ENCELIA and LAYLA, using “ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.”
Sarea said the vessels were targeted for violating the embargo imposed by the group’s armed forces on ships calling at Saudi ports. He claimed the strikes caused fires to engulf both tankers and had “successfully achieved their objectives.”
–IANS
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